Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind. ~Seneca
Here I am at the end of my year here in Korea. I must say it has been quite the adventure. Learning a new language, a new culture, and absorbing all the intricacies of living in a country that is totally different while still being westernized as well. But it has been lots of fun, even with all the challenges, and I treasure the memories of this past year.
That being said, I am ready to be HOME!! As the time for departure grows nearer, I get more and more antsy. It's like being ravenous with hunger but having to wait until the dinner bell rings before you can eat the delicious meal that's been sitting in front of you for what seems like an eternity.
I do feel however, that even with all my eagerness and anticipation of home going, I will still be aware of my changed perception of familiar things. Things that to me were normal, given realities are now viewed more in the light of the actual realities that exist outside of the bubble of the United States. Mark Twain said this, "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime." I feel like living in another culture has exposed my narrow perspective and opened up some of the shutters of my mind. I wouldn't say I was prejudiced or bigoted before coming here but I do know I had a limited view on just how others lived outside the US. Granted, I had a great experience at HEART Training Institute learning about living conditions and challenges of Developing Countries but I have learned this past year that even with all that training, I had and still have, so much more to learn by actually removing myself from the confines of America and living in Korea.
These may seem silly but I'll give a couple of recent examples that illustrate what I'm trying to convey here. Today I was talking with my family on Skype and I mentioned that I couldn't wait to walk and roll in the grass. "Why would you want to do that?" they asked. I explained that in Korea, grass is a scarcity, especially in a big city like where I live. I went on to say, "There are no neighborhoods here with individual houses and lawns in front and back. Everything is apartments and shops; everything goes up, not out." And that is just hard for them to even conceptualize. And it might have been for me a year ago too if I had been told that before I came.
And yesterday, I watched my first World Cup game here-The Republic of Korea vs. Greece. Growing up in America, I never payed much mind to soccer games or the World Cup because, lets face it; aside from a devoted following, soccer does not attract the attention that American football, baseball, and basketball do. But stepping outside my American fishbowl made me realize, the rest of this world loves soccer (or futbol, football depending on where you're from)! I have never seen the level of audience participation and and united rooting for their team that Koreans displayed last night. Literally almost every television in the country was tuned in to the game and when a goal was scored, you could here the shouts of victory echoing all across the city of Daegu. I determined that I was going to educate myself about soccer and the World Cup and guess what? I have developed an eager interest now in previously uncharted territory for me, and I will be following the Korean team (and the USA team) faithfully.
I know those examples might seem inconsequential to some but to me they were fresh reminders yet again of the self-contained, exclusive worldview that many Americans have. Not that I am knocking America by any means; I am very eager to return. But now I sort of view it like people outside the US usually do. As a fairytale land where everything is larger than life in their proportions. I think of it as a haven to rejuvinate in. Just to drive home my point, I was looking at pictures of our backyard and garden on facebook the other day. I was at my academy, and some of my students wandered in and looked over my shoulder at the pictures. "Where teacher?" "Where is that?" they asked. "My house." I replied without taking my eyes off the screen. Then a few seconds later, I glanced at them and their faces were registering absolute shock and disbelief. "Your house teacher?" one repeated incredulously. "Yes, it really is my house" I said with a laugh. They stared at the pictures, taking in the playset, the volleyball net, the pool, the grass and trees. Then they walked away, shaking their heads as if they still couldn't fathom all that belonging to one family. I knew in that moment why so many people in the world believe that America is a land of paradise and that all the people who live there are as rich as kings.
All that being said, I AM ready to touch my feet again on the soil of "paradise". To drink in the sound of my parents and siblings voices and feel their arms around me in embrace. To be able to understand and communicate fully, at any venue, without feelings of frustration, inadequacy, or embarrassment.
"No matter how dreary and gray our homes are, we people of flesh and blood would rather live there than in any other country, be it ever so beautiful. There is no place like home." L. Frank Baum. I would have thought this quote to really true two years ago, but now, home for me is the beautiful country, the place of refuge. And I am blessed, so blessed, to be going there in a few short days.
I cannot wait to see all your faces again. Until then, 안영!!!
